Objectives
Vitamin D deficiency leads to a myriad of healthcare problems from cardiovascular, metabolic, endocrine, and neurological disorders to cancer. However, the role of vitamin D deficiency in the etiopathogenesis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is unclear. This study aimed to measure objectively the impact of vitamin D deficiency on PCOS through a quantitative assessment of the existing literature.
Methods
We conducted a systematic search of published literature on the following online databases using EndnoteX7: MEDLINE, EBSCO, ScienceDirect, and CINAHL. Searches were limited to full-text English-language journal articles published between 2006 and 2016. Eligible clinical studies employed control group data to investigate the association between vitamin D deficiency and PCOS.
Results
We identified 10 studies eligible for this meta-analysis. The summary intervention effect calculated for this meta-analysis yields a value of −0.45 with a confidence interval of −1.68 to 0.79, supporting the hypothesis that lower concentrations of serum vitamin D play a role in the hormonal and metabolic dysregulation seen in PCOS.
Conclusions
Lower concentrations of serum vitamin D are associated with a greater risk of developing PCOS. However, the therapeutic effect of vitamin D in the setting of PCOS remains unclear and must be determined by future interventional studies.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.